


Guarding Your Back

by Nishinoya4Yuu



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Best Friends, Cuddling & Snuggling, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Noya tries to cook, That moment when you realize what you wanted has always been with you., Toothache
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-14
Updated: 2018-04-14
Packaged: 2019-04-22 18:51:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14314953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nishinoya4Yuu/pseuds/Nishinoya4Yuu
Summary: Of Wisdom Teeth, Rice Cookers, Hugs, & Kisses.





	Guarding Your Back

Tanaka winced as he heard the door open. He looked over from his spot, sprawled on the couch, and moaned to Noya, “Noya-san...I'm dying....” 

Noya slipped his shoes off and tossed his keys on the kitchen table. “Really? You look pretty alive to me,” he quipped with his brow raised in half question, half amusement. 

“I have to wait until the infection goes awww ooowww,” Tanaka cut himself off and held his hand to his jaw in pain. 

“Oh, shit, so they're infected?” Noya asked as he walked over to his miserable friend. 

Tanaka nodded solemnly and forced out, “Impacted too.” His eyes rolled back in his head. 

Noya looked down at him and frowned, “Didn't they give you pain killers? Aren't they working?” 

Tanaka nodded again and then rolled over and buried his face into the back of the couch. 

“When do you get them removed?” Noya asked, concern lacing his every word. 

Tanaka held up his fist, thumb in front of his knuckles. He moaned and burrowed deeper into the couch. 

“The 10th? Ryuu! It's only the 3rd, how do they expect you to live like this for that long?” Noya couldn't help the stance his body naturally fell into. He spread his feet apart and stood up to his full height and demanded, “Did you tell them that's bullshit? Ryuu?” Noya didn't give him long to respond. He spun on his heel and cursed, “Damn it, I'll go give them a piece of my....” 

Tanaka reached blindly out and dug his fingers into the back of Noya's shirt and tugged him to a halt. “I did,” he quietly offered and then groaned in pain again. 

Noya slowly turned around, and as he did Tanaka let go of his shirt. Noya caught his hand and held it gently, “Ryuu, Hey. I'll help. Did you eat anything today?” 

Ryuu moaned at the thought of food. 

“Well, you have to eat something. How about ice for your face? Would that help?” Noya gently tugged Ryuu up by the hand. Ryuu followed him in a daze of pain, as Noya lead him into his room. Noya pushed him carefully down onto the bed and pulled the covers up, tucking the blankets in around him. “Just stay in bed, Ryuu. It's fucking cold in the living room. I'll bring you everything you need, okay?” 

Tanaka's dazed thoughts flitted briefly over how weird it was that Noya was being so gentle with him. It was...nice. Tanaka mumbled, “Okay,” and tried to settle in to his bed as comfortably as he could. 

“Good!” Noya hurried to the living room and quickly spotted Ryuu's pain meds and antibiotics on the coffee table. He skimmed the directions to make sure Tanaka took them when he was supposed to and then grabbed a glass of water from the kitchen and rushed back to Ryuu. “When was the last time you took the pain killers, Ryuu?” Noya asked. 

Tanaka thought for a minute, but the ache distracted him too much. “No idea,” he finally offered. 

Noya chewed on his bottom lip. He didn't want to give him too many, but also, his friend was 'dying.' “Do you think it was 4 hours ago?” Tanaka nodded so Noya popped the lid off the container and pulled out a pill. “Here,” he offered it to Tanaka, along with the glass of water. 

Tanaka didn't put up a fight, just swallowed the pill with some water. “Thanks, Noya-saaaa owww,” he fell back into his pillow and hated his life. 

Noya tried not to smile, but he couldn't help it. “Dude, just, call me Noya, or even Yuu. That's shorter. Or just don't call me anything, just like moan and I'll come running, okay?” 

Tanaka's eyes widened in shock at the thought, “But...” 

“It's fine. We're friends, yeah? I don't mind.” Noya laughed and then paused to add, “Never have minded, really. I mean, I do call you Ryuu.” He shrugged it off and then reached over to carefully tuck Ryuu back in. “I'll be back soon. If you need anything...er...moan, or whatever.” 

Noya headed to the kitchen and assessed the situation. It was pretty grim. At Tanaka's insistence, there were some veggies in the fridge, but those would be hell for him to eat right now. He tried the freezer and wondered if Tanaka could handle the cold as he eyed his own stash of Gari-Gari Kun. Probably not. Noya threw open the cupboards and was appalled at the state of things. 

“Damn it!” He closed the cupboard with a bit more force than was strictly necessary and pouted. Finally he eyed the rice cooker sitting on the counter. “Okayu shouldn't irritate his teeth, right?” Noya mused to himself. Finally he decided that okayu it was going to be. 

He dumped a cup of rice into the cooker and then added some water. “Easy!” he proudly exclaimed as he hit the cook button in triumph. He hesitated a moment, wondering if he should give Ryuu some space, but then rushed back to Tanaka's room. 

Tanaka's eyes opened heavily as he heard Noya's foot steps. He moaned and then pulled the blankets closer to his face. “Why'z't so cold?” 

Noya looked at his miserable friend and he wanted to murder the dentist or doctors or whoever it was who said Ryuu had to wait until the 10th to get this fixed. He swallowed down his anger though, and instead said, “You're cold? Be right back!” and rushed off again. 

Noya bolted to his own room and yanked all the blankets off his futon and hurried back to Tanaka. He threw the pile on the floor and then carefully added them on top of Ryuu, one at a time. He asked, “What time do you take your antibiotics?” 

“Took 'em at 10,” Tanaka said. He seemed to be talking a little better. The pain meds must have started to help a bit. 

Noya grabbed the bottle and read the directions again and did the math, “Ryuu, you should have taken it again at 4!” Noya sounded a bit exasperated as he opened the bottle and fished out 2 pills for Ryuu. “You have to take these with food, though. Give me a minute,” he set the pills on the night stand and hurried off to the kitchen again. 

Noya checked the timer on the rice cooker and groaned. He mulled over his options for a bit, but 15 minutes isn't that long. It was probably best to just get the drugs into Ryuu as close to on time as possible and have him eat right away when the okayu was finished. He rushed back to Ryuu's side. 

Tanaka eyed him drearily in confusion. “Yuu?” 

Noya thrust the pills towards him and then the glass of water, “Here, food'll be done soon, just take these now. You're already 2 hours late.” Noya grabbed Tanaka's phone off the night stand while Tanaka downed the pills. Noya unlocked the screen, without a second thought, and opened up Tanaka's alarm. “I'm going to set alarms for all the times you have to take the antibiotic, okay? And also for when it's okay to take the pain meds again.” 

Tanaka nodded and set the glass of water back down. “Thanks, Yuu.” Tanaka settled back in and watched Noya tapping away on his phone. He hurt like hell, but it was really nice seeing Noya so ready and willing to step it up and take care of him. Tanaka's heart warmed at the thought. 

“Okay,” Noya set Tanaka's phone back down and then just stood there lamely. He wasn't sure what to do. The rice wasn't done yet, but Tanaka still looked miserable. But there wasn't anything he could really do to help. He hesitated and finally asked, “Need anything else?” 

Tanaka narrowed his eyes and took Noya in. He looked really worried. “No....” he trailed off. There wasn't really anything else to bother his friend with. But he had a sudden compulsion to tell Noya how much it meant to him that he was so worried and willing to take care of him. Tanaka opened his mouth but finally closed it again without saying anything. 

Noya sighed and his shoulders slumped a bit. “Okay, then. Just...make noise if you need me. I'll be back with your food soon.” He headed to the door, but paused and looked back, just to check on him one more time. Ryuu was staring at him. Noya's chest sort of started to feel tight, so he hurried away back to the kitchen. 

The timer only had 6 more minutes to go so he anxiously pulled out a bowl from the cupboard and started pacing. Noya had had to deal with his wisdom teeth 2 years ago, right after high school, and it had sucked. His didn't even have the complications likes Ryuu's did and he still wanted to die from the pain. He thought Ryuu was handling the whole thing pretty well, to be honest. It must be hell for him. Noya felt a tug at his heart. He muttered, “Ryuu....” and scrunched up his face in sympathy. 

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star started playing from the rice cooker and Noya practically dove at it. He popped the lid and....his heart fell. “Huh?” It wasn't the okayu he had expected. “Fuck!” He grabbed the rice paddle and scooped some into the bowl. It was sticky and had the consistency of rice used for sushi. Noya grabbed a set of chopsticks out of the holder on the counter and tried a bite. It tasted fine, and it was mostly cooked, but there were some crunchy bits in it too. 

Noya just stared in shock at the rice cooker that had betrayed him. Finally he sighed and begrudgingly took the food in to Ryuu. He really needed to eat soon. Tanaka looked up at him in pain and Noya's heart broke. “Ryuu.... I'm sorry, I think I did it wrong, I tried to make okayu, but this is just rice and it's not cooked all the way, but you really need to eat, and I'm sorry, I was stressed I guess I didn't read the directions right and I didn't mean to and....” He was doing that thing where he talks a mile a minute when he's freaking out. 

Tanaka reached out and took the bowl from him and considered it. “It's okay, Yuu. Thanks,” he said as he took the chopsticks from Noya and carefully placed a bite in his mouth. He chewed it slowly, and it crunched in his teeth and hurt like hell. Eventually he managed to swallow it and hated himself for being in too much pain to eat any more. “I appreciate it, Yuu. Really.” 

Noya chewed his bottom lip and said, “I'm sorry, man, I was stressed about you and I fucked up.” 

Tanaka set down the rice on the nightstand and then threw back his covers. He slowly peeled himself out of bed and walked out to the kitchen. “It's okay,” he directed at Noya, who followed him out. 

Noya stood in silence as Ryuu opened the cupboards and rummaged around. Ryuu finally pulled out a jar of applesauce from the back somewhere Noya couldn't reach. He glanced at the date on it before twisting off the lid and pulling a spoon out of the drawer. Leaning with his back against the counter he started eating directly from the jar. 

“Sorry I made you get out of bed, Ryuu,” Noya said. Then he brightened and offered, “But I'll make it up to you! Just tell me what else you need and it's done! Promise!” Noya grinned up at him. 

Tanaka considered, as he slowly ate his make-shift meal. His eyes trailed down his friend and took in his muscles, and then back up to his bright smile. Tanaka pulled out another spoonful of applesauce, clinking the spoon on the jar as he did. “Okay, there is something you can do,” Ryuu admitted, as he shoved the spoon into his mouth and swallowed the applesauce off of it. 

Noya cheered up even more, “Anything, man! Just say the word!” He bounced up on his toes a bit and promised, “I'll make sure I don't mess it up this time!” 

Tanaka set the jar on the counter, spoon buried inside, and then leaned back again. He carefully licked his lips and then went for it, “Hold me.” Noya stared at him, Tanaka stared back. Finally Tanaka sighed and ran his hand over his bald head, explaining, “Look, it's fucking cold, my mouth hurts like hell, I kind of wish I weren't alive right now and like...just...cuddle with me, okay?” 

Noya let the words sink in. It wasn't really that strange of a request. They'd held each other close before in times of distress, or happiness. It felt different today though. Usually it was something that happened unsaid. They never talked about it, or asked for it. So this was different. Weird? No...it really wasn't weird.... Noya smiled and proclaimed, “You got it, dude!” He reached out and grabbed Ryuu's hand and pulled him back to the bedroom.

When they reached the edge of the bed they both stopped and waited. Hesitated. Finally Tanaka climbed into bed and faced away from Noya. Noya bit his lip and furrowed his brow, considering his options. What did Ryuu want? He did say to hold him. So Noya climbed in and slowly pressed himself up against Ryuu's back. He nestled himself in and threw and arm over top of his friend. 

Tanaka half sighed, half groaned, a contented little noise. Noya buried his face in Tanaka's back, between his shoulder blades. He closed his eyes and breathed in, and it was like coming home. Ryuu smelled of fabric softener, and faintly of, well, Ryuu. It wasn't really sweat or anything Noya could put his finger on, it was just the smell of his best friend. His friend he'd spent the past 5 years of his life with. And it was perfect. 

Noya breathed in Ryuu again and sighed, “You know, Ryuu...I...I could...get used to this....” 

Tanaka whispered, “Yeah...me too....” 

“Yeah,” Noya responded. Somehow he already knew Ryuu would say that. 

“You know, Yuu. Back in high school you always used to fall asleep on me. On the bus after games, at our houses after studying, after practice in the gym. It was...nice....” 

“What?! I did not!” Noya blurted out, but his heart wasn't really in it. He knew that had happened at least a few times, though not as often as Ryuu seemed to make out. 

Ryuu laughed gently, but moaned a little through the pain. “You did, dude. All the time. You'd just sit down next to me and pass the fuck out. I was basically your travel pillow for like 3 years. You don't do it as much now though,” Ryuu explained. “I kind of miss it.” 

The room went quiet except for their breathing. Noya hesitated again, but then he squeezed Ryuu gently and carefully reached his head up and pressed his lips against the back of Ryuu's neck. Ryuu shuddered and Noya pulled away. “Bad? Too much? I'm sorry I didn't mean to....” 

Tanaka settled in and put Noya at ease, “No, it was nice. Just unexpected.” Ryuu added in a whisper, “I liked it...Yuu....” 

Noya tentatively did it again. He gently pressed his lips to the nape of Ryuu's neck. Ryuu's skin was a little salty but also tasted a bit like soap. Noya decided he loved it. He kissed him again, and again. Noya peppered gentle kisses all over the back of Ryuu's neck, and even up to his head. 

Without warning Tanaka reached behind and pulled Noya over top of himself. Ryuu engulfed Noya in his arms and then winced in pain. Noya's heart sank as he saw Tanaka in pain. He gently pushed forward to kiss it better. Avoiding Ryuu's jaw, Noya gently kissed the tip of his nose. And then his brow, and then his forehead. 

“I'm fine,” Tanaka whispered. “I'm pretty sure I can handle anything right now.” Tanaka sighed in content, his throbbing mouth pain hardly even registering in his thoughts. “Can do anything with you watching my back.” 

Noya grinned and his eyes lit up. He carefully, gently, avoiding anything that might hurt Ryuu, pressed his lips to Ryuu's. It was a quick and chaste kiss. And then Noya was gone, climbing back behind Ryuu and snuggling into him. “Rodger! I'll guard your back, Ryuu!” Noya burrowed his nose into Tanaka's shirt and whispered, “Always.” 

“Thanks, Noya-san...Yuu....”

**Author's Note:**

> The fist with the thumb over the knuckles is the Japanese hand signal for 10. 
> 
> Okayu = Japanese rice porridge
> 
> No, seriously, my Zojirushi rice cooker plays Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. 
> 
> Also can I just say I love the idea of Noya being the big spoon?! It makes my heart melt!! 
> 
> And a special thanks to weirdmilk for giving me the original idea! My own teeth are causing me suffering, and while I wait for the dentist to get me in, she said I should just use it as inspiration to take my mind off the pain. And it helped!! Sorry, Tanaka, for putting that onto you!! 
> 
> And should out to loveintheveins for writing one single line of dialogue and forcing it onto me. I changed it anyway, but here's your shout out you karma whore. <3 ;)


End file.
